Monday, August 25, 2014

Madness for Material Positions, Possessions and Prestige Make All Mad

Too much obsession with oneself and with the material world
makes people mad. It is not an allegorical statement but it’s a hard core fact.
People actually become mad.

Once with few devotees I visited a psychiatric
rehabilitation centre. Devotees used to conduct spiritual programs there
helping patients to come out from their pathetic condition. The program
comprised of spiritual discourse, kirtan and prasad (sanctified vegetarian
food). The sight wasn’t pleasing. Few of us thought of speaking to some of
them. One person who was in his forties looked well educated and was also
decently dressed. He was sitting in a corner and appeared to be lost in
thoughts. When we tried to interact with him, he spoke normally. I asked about
his life and his problem. He said solemnly that he was a work-alcoholic and
used to frequently travel throughout the world. His purpose was to earn lots of
money. He mostly stayed away from his family and rarely bothered about them.
Subsequently his family left him.His
wife divorced him and children went with their mother. Today he was all alone
with all the money. By the time he realized that his madness for money had
ruined his life, it was too late. He was finding it extremely difficult to come
out of this difficult phase.

Another was a young man; he said that he was a painter. When
we asked him, if he has painted something recently he immediately went and
brought his drawing book. He had drawn few decent pictures which we
appreciated. After seeing most of his drawings we handed him his workbook. And
then he started crying! Every one of us was taken aback. We did not know what
to say or do. After lots of prodding he said that we did not appreciate his
work. We protested because we had done so. But he felt that our gestures
weren’t sufficient enough.He kept on
saying that in this world no one likes him and his work. He fretted that no one
has ever respected him in his life. We did not have any answer because none of
our answers were convincing him.

One wanted to become extremely rich and the other was too
self – conscious. Every one of us is also afflicted with the same disease
although the degree may vary. Scriptures inform us that we came away from the
kingdom of God because we wanted to be like God. We wanted to be famous, rich
and powerful like him. So here we struggle hard to achieve these goals but our
efforts rarely succeed. We may get something after tremendous struggle but our
achievements never remain with us for a long time. Either we lose it in this
very life or else the beautiful ruthless death drag us away from them.

Hungry and angry
heart moan in pain

Since childhood it is drilled into us that the only purpose
in this life is to become extra ordinarily materially successful persons. We
dream of a day when the entire world will recognize us, eulogize us and revere
us. We get obsessed with name, fame and money. During our struggle we lose
peace, sleep, health, family, friends and most importantly happiness. Our dry
heart continuously cries for attention and love. But we continue stuffing it up
with lots of money, loads of worldly things and tonnes of pride and prestige.
These things fail to please the heart. The carnal pleasure in this world is
celebrated and so many go for it thinking it to be the mother of all happiness.
These attempts instead of satisfying the heart makes it more agitated. It’s
like drinking salty sea water upon being thirsty. Not just the taste is
disgusting but it increases our thirst.

Here in this world we all are diseased and we need
treatment. Krishna, the Supreme God and our supreme well-wisher, has spoken
elaborately about the elixir which can cure us. But sadly in spite of His
well-intentioned advice we refuse to live as per his expectations and thus we
not just prolong our multiple sufferings but in fact worsen our condition. In
Bhagavad Gita 16.23, Krishna describes the plight of a disobedient soul, “He
who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains
neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.”

Calm the heart by
culling countless material cravings

Scriptures constantly remind us that it is futile to think
that material aggrandizement will ameliorate our life. These historical books
ask us to not give in to the demand of the insatiable senses and uncontrolled
mind. Slavery of the senses and madness of the mind make all crazy in this
world. We today want instant gratification and is ready to do anything and
everything to get what we want. In fact today’s society teach people how to
become a supreme sense gratifier and become obsessed with wealth, women (or
men) and wine.

Happiness and material opulence (or success) is not
synonymous. Duryodhana is the best case study. He had succeeded in driving out
Pandavas, though cunningly, out of the kingdom. And Pandavas lived frugally in
the jungle in huts made of wood and mud but they were peaceful and non-
complaining. But Duryodhana in spite of having all the comforts and luxury in
his palace was in abject misery and in constant anxiety. Why? Because his heart
was filled with envy, hatred and arrogance. Whilst the Pandavas were happy as
love and piety dominated their heart. Love satisfies our heart and not lust.
Satisfaction calms our heart and not material cravings.

No one is today told that real happiness is in being
self-satisfied and in controlling and tolerating the countless demands of mind
and senses.

Chaste senses &
clean mind satiates the heart

In Gita 2.62 and 2.63, Krishna graphically explains that how
a person falls down by contemplating on the objects of the senses. While
meditating on sensual stuffs one develops deep attachment for it which gives
rise to lust, greed and anger which ultimately opens the gateway to hell.

Scriptures compare senses to venomous serpents and asks us
to eliminate all the poisonous substances from it. Lust, greed, pride, anger,
envy and illusion are the toxic stuffs which need to be purged. And qualities
like simplicity, tolerance, renunciation of the objects of sense gratification,
absence of false ego should be preserved and nurtured.We have to ensure that each and every sense
gets sanctified because as one snake in the room will fill our heart with
fright and fear similarly any one of the unrestrained senses will make us
insane. In Gita 2.67 Krishna says, “As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the
water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away
a man's intelligence.” Similarly we are asked to restrain our mind and not
allow it to wander like an unchaste woman.

We can be in control of our life only if we can tame our
senses and restrain our mind and not vice – versa. Once our senses become pure
and mind becomes friendly then instead of making our life pathetic they will
start enthusiastically cooperating with us. In fact each of the senses can be
astutely utilized in perfecting our lives. Chaste and controlled mind will open
a gateway for blissful life. Our heart will experience supreme satisfaction and
our mindless obsession for the things of this world will wither.

Heart celebrates when
we gravitate towards Krishna

However in spite of all our plans and preparations troubles
and difficulties will do knock at our door because this world is an abode of
misery, duhkhalayam asasvatam, Gita
8.15.

A person stuck in a marshy land will definitely get devoured
today or tomorrow. If he simply stands there he will go down slowly and if he
struggles hard then he will quickly glide down. His only hope of survival is if
someone standing on a solid land extends any support and pulls him out. We are
also dangerously stuck in this material pool. With our own effort we will not
be able to rescue ourselves. Krishna can only save us and He is very eager to
help. We just need to positively respond to his gesture. Being a caring father
he has spoken elaborately how to get out of all the challenging situations.

Following are
Krishna’s advice to smartly confront difficulties:

Do not take part in the sources of misery which are due to contact with the material senses. Such pleasures have a beginning and an end. Gita 5.22.

To attain peace and tranquillity control the mind. A controlled mind will never be disturbed by happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor. Gita.6.7

Appearance & disappearance of happiness and distress is like appearance and disappearance of summer and winter. So, as a sane man do not get too touchy about it and simply tolerate it. Gita.2.14

Krishna has also
given us formula to live peacefully in this world:

Krishna says in Gita 5.29, “A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneﬁciary of all sacriﬁces and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries”.

In Gita 5.12 it is explained that a person who offers the result of all his activities to Krishna attains peace. But if someone is not in union with the Divine and is greedy for fruits of labour then he gets entangled in this world and does not achieve peace.

Krishna explains in Gita 2.70 that just like an ocean which remains undisturbed by the flow of multiple rivers into it similarly we should not be disturbed by the incessant flow of desires. If we always remain steady in all circumstances then we can achieve peace but if we start striving to satisfy all our desires then we will be always at war with ourselves.

Life is a series of choices. Our moment to moment decisions
decide our destiny. If we become mad for material position and possessions then
our future will be marred in miseries. But if we gravitate towards Krishna and
live as per His guidelines then we can live happily here and at the end of life
can get a ticket to go to the spiritual world, a place of eternal happiness. So,
let us give Krishna the charge of our life and start living as per His wishes.
We can then be sure of peace and bliss.